Charles sperry



3 SheetsSheet 1.

c. SPERRY.

SPEED INDICATOR FOR VESSELS.

(Np Model.)

No. 372,874. Patented Nov. 8, 1887.

HWENTOR ATTORNEYS.

' (No Model.) 3 SheeIcs Sheet 2.

0'. SPERRY.

SPEED INDICATOR FOR VESSELS. No. 372,874. Patented Nov. 8, 1887.

INVENTOR: BY Mil/ ATTORNEYS.

(N0 Mbdel.) 3 Sheets-Sheet '3. O. SPERRY.

SPEED INDICATOR 'FOR VESSBLS. No. 372,874. Patented Nov. 8, 1887.

INVENTOR ATTORNEYS.

N. PETERS Pllolo-Lvlhngmphcn Washinglon. u. 1:.

2 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES SPERRY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

SPEED-INDICATOR FOR VESSELS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 372,874, dated November 8, 1887.

7 Application filed November 24, 1886. Serial No. 219,761. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES SPERRY, of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Speed-Indicators for Vessels, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

The object of my invention is to provide an instrument that Will indicate the speed of a vessel and beoperated by thevarying pressures in tubes projecting from the bottom of the vessel, produced by the resistance of the water when the-vessel is moving through it. I attain this object by the mechanism and in the manner illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a front view of the indicator with 2 portions of the dial and shell broken away;

Fig. 2, a sectional elevation on line 00 m, Fig. 1, showing the mechanism for moving the pointer. Fig. 3 is a diagram view showing the location of the indicator in the vessel. Fig. 4 is a sectional plan view of the dial-box; Fig. 5, a cross-section of the bottom of a vessel, representing the way by which the pressure of water on the outside of the vessel is conducted to the indicator. Fig. 6 is a sectional elevation of the pressure-tubes, and Fig. 7 is a sectional plan view of one of the mercurynected by link 12 to arm 13, fast on shaft 14,

which passes through packing box 15. on shaft 14 is secured a collar, 16,which has a lug, 17, in contact with the end of screw 18,which screws through a projection on and thereby carries the curved arm 19. The upper end of this arm moves against the friction-wheel 20, at-

, tached to the scroll-sector, and turns scrollsector 21, which allows the scroll'wheel 22 on shaft 23, with pointer B, to be revolved by spiral spring 24. The coil-spring 25 takes up all lost motion and holds the long arm 11 of the bell-crank against the diaphragm 5. The sector-shaft 26 has its bearings in plates 27,

.the bottom of the vessel.

which, by'loosening screws 28, may be moved on the frame-pieces 29 and the sector properly adjusted to the scroll-wheel. The scrollgear 21 and 22 is proportioned to cause-a uni-. form movement of the pointer over equal spaces on the dial for equal variations in the speed of the vessel. Adj ustingscrew 18 is to bring the scroll-gear in position to normally hold the pointer to the zero-point when the indicator is quiescent. The movement of the pointer is regulated to indicate correctly by adj ustiugscrew 30, which, by turning, moves wheel 20 toward or from shaft 26, thereby varying the proportional radii ofarm 19 and heel 20.

The surface of the curved arm in contact with 31 is a tube permanently secured through Connected to the inner end of this tube isa stop-valve, 32, with packingbox 33. Through this packing-box, valve, and tube, and projecting a few inches below the bottom of the vessel, is another tube, 34, divided into two passages, 35 and 36, by a partition athwartships through the center, as asubstitute for two tubes, and having both ends closed. At the lower end, on the forward and after sides of tube 34, are holes 37 and 38, communicating with passages 35 and 36, and on the upper end are stop-valves 39. Reservoirs 40, 41, 42, and 43 are provided for mercury to support a column of liquid in tubes 44 and 45 to the elevation of the indicator.

The compartments 40 41 42 43 are equal in their horizontal areas, and the inner and outer ones are concentric in order to prevent the pitching and rolling of the vessel from producing vibrations of the indicator, and the upper reservoirs are parallel with the lower and on the same vertical axis, and while I prefer to make the horizontal areas equal, as just stated, it is only necessary that the horizontal areas of the inner reservoirs be equal to each other and the outer reservoirs to equal each other. The forward passage, 36, is connected by tube 47 to reservoir 41, and the after passage, 35, by tube 46 to reservoir 40. Tube 48 connects reservoirs 41 and 43, and tube 49 connects reservoirs 40 and 42. Reservoir 42 is connected by tube 44 with compartment 7 of the indicator, and reservoir 43 is connected by tube 45 with compartment 8 through the stopvalves 50.

The arrangement of the different partsis as follows: The indicators are placed wherever desired in the vessel, and the quantity of mercury is regulated so that it will stand at about the center of the reservoirs and sustain the liquid in tubes 44 and 45 to the highest indicator. The reservoirs are used so that when the diaphragm is moved by variations of pressure on each side there will only be a slight difi'erence in the elevations of the surfaces of mercury. The stop-valve 32 being closed, tube 34 is placed in position by pushing it through the packing-box to the valve, and then opening the valve and pushing the tube down as far as desired. Tubes 46 and 47 are then connected to valves 39, which are closed. Valves 51 and 52 being open, reservoirs 42 and 43 are filled full of mercury, also tubes 48 and 49,to the same height. Then oil or any liquid that may be used is turned into the top of the indicator at 53 and 54 until compartments 7 and 8, tubes 44 and 45, and the upper half of reservoirs 42 and 43 are filled, the mercury having been forced up through tubes 48 and 49 to about the center of reservoirs 40 and 41. There now being a perfect equilibrium of the liquids inall the tubes and reservoirs, the openings 53 and 54 and valves 5L and 52 are closed. The upper half of reservoirs 40 and 41 and tubes 46 and 47 are filled with the liquid at 55 and 56, which are then closed and valves 39 opened, when the pressure from the outside of the vessel will be transmitted through the connections described to each side of the diaphragm in the indicator.

If tube 34 becomes obstructed by the ves sel grounding in soft bottom, it may be pulled up through valve 32, which is then closed, and the tube pulled entirely out and cleaned. It is put back by pushing through packingbox, opening valve, and shoving tube clcar down. This prevents any water entering the vessel. If the tube has been injured and bent so it cannot be pulled up, the cap 60, with valves 39, may be unscrewed and a duplicate tube pushed down, forcing the old one out. Several indicators may be used on one vessel and all connected to one set of reservoirs.

The operation is as follows: As long as the vessel is not moving through the water, the

pressures at inlets 37 and 38 are equal. The pressures are therefore equal through both series of connections and reservoirs and in compartments 7 and 8 on each side of the diaphragm. Consequently there will be no move ment of the diaphragm or the pointer. When the vessel starts and increases her speed ahead, the pressure increases at inlet 38 in passage 36, tube 47, reservoir 41, tube 48, reservoir 43, tube 45, and compartment 8. At the same time the pressure decreases at inlet 37 in passage 35, tube 46, reservoir 40, tube 49, ms ervoir 42, tube 44, and compartment 7- This excess of pressure in compartment 8 springs the diaphragm 5 forward, thereby moving the bellcrank-E), and this movement, transmitted by link 12, arm 13, shaft 14, arm 19, and the scroll-gear, as described, moves the pointer over the dial which indicates the speed of the vessel. As the vessel increases in speed, the pressure will increase nearly as the square of the velocity. To compensate for this variation of pressure, I employ the scroll-wheel 22 and scroll-sector 21. so that when the diaphragm 5 moves least the pointer will be carried over a relatively greater distance, so that the grad nations upon the dial may be made equidistant apart.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Let ters Patent, is"

l. The pressure-chamber provided with a flexible diaphragm, in combination with the tube 34, having the passages 35 36, said chamher being connected upon both sides ofthe diaphragm with the passages 35 and 36 of the said tube, projecting through the hull of the vessel, substantially as described.

2. The pressure-chamber provided with a flexible diaphragm and connected upon both sides of the diaphragm to an outside double tube, in combination with registering mechanism and mercury-chambers, arranged substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. The diaphragm 5 of the pressure-box and the bell-crank lever 11, shaft 14, and arm 19, in combination with the scroll-sector 21 and scroll gear 22, placed upon the pointerspindle, substantially as described.

CHARLES SPERRY.

\Vitnesses:

D. BUHLER, E. STANNARD. 

